Green chilli price starts falling again

• Retail: Tk280-320 per kg
• Wholesale: Tk200-250 per kg
• Imports from India has made the supply situation normal
• Both the local and imported green chilli sold at the same price on Friday
• Traders expect further price decline this week

Following the heavy fluctuation in the last few days, the green chilli price started to fall again on Friday.

The chilli price dropped to Tk280-320 per kg on Friday from around Tk400-500 a day ago in the retail markets of Dhaka city. Its wholesale price was around Tk200-250 per kg, which was Tk350-400 just two days ago in the city markets, said traders.

Sellers in different areas of the city including Karwanbazar, Farmgate, and Kathalbagan said the green chilli price has been decreasing after the imports from India started to arrive and it is expected to fall further this week.

Abdul Baset, a wholesaler in Karwanbazar, told TBS that there was ample supply due to the arrival of the imports from India. The prices of both local and imported chillies were the same.

"On 5 July morning, I sold it for Tk450 per kg, but in the afternoon that same chilli had to be sold for Tk300. I actually bought it for Tk370 per kg. On the first day Indian chilli arrived, I sold it at Tk160-180 per kg," said the wholesale trader regarding the volatile market.

Another businessman, Ismail, told TBS, "The price of chilli in the market changes every hour. If a truck's chilli is slightly rotten, its price drops below Tk200 per kg. Some traders buy that and sell it for Tk250 while others sell it for Tk350 per kg."

Muminul Islam, a retail seller in Karwan Bazar, told TBS that currently fewer people are buying chilli despite the price drop. No one is buying pepper more than what is necessary. Chillies with slight spots on them sell at Tk240 per kg.

Md Yousuf, a seller in Agargaon, told TBS, "I am selling chilli at Tk320 per kg today (Friday), which was over Tk400 yesterday.

"I had to buy it at Tk280 per kg at wholesale level yesterday night, but in the morning the price was Tk220 per kg. If I could buy it at a lower price I would have sold it for less."

Md Kamal Hossain, manager of Al-Robin Restaurant in West Kafrul, told TBS, "I have been using less chilli in the restaurant since Eid-ul-Azha. Previously, we needed 3 kg per day, but currently we use only 1 kg. Earlier we used green chilli in salad, but we do not do it anymore."

According to retail and wholesale traders, on Sunday the price of green chillies fell to Tk200-220 a kg from Tk700-800 amid strict monitoring and drives conducted by the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection.

But on Wednesday, again the price started to climb up again to Tk250-280 in the wholesale market. After this, the price fell down on Friday.

According to data from the Plant Protection Wing of the Department of Agricultural Extension, around 51,380 tonnes of green chillies have been allowed to be imported from 25 June to 5 pm on Thursday. But, only 528.59 tonnes were imported in that period.

Before Eid-ul-Azha, the price of green chillies suddenly surged all over the country to as high as Tk700-800 a kg in some places.

To stabilise the market, the Ministry of Agriculture allowed the import of chilli on 25 June. However, imports were halted when the land ports were closed for five days during the Eid holidays. Banking on this opportunity, some unscrupulous traders are trying to destabilise the market.